The Board of Directors of the UAE Banks Federation, UBF, has held its first meeting of the year, headed by the Chairman of UBF, AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, to discuss progress on a number of high priority topics for the federation this year.

The topics included progress on the Mobile Wallet project, and the creation of a Higher Sharia Board, due to be introduced soon under the supervision of the UAE Central Bank, which is intended to strengthen consistency and consultation across the Islamic finance industry in the UAE. The board also reviewed regulations governing risk management and liquidity in UAE banks, the continuing challenge of de-risking, close netting, and the programme being finalised by the federation to address cash flow and debt problems faced by small and medium sized enterprises in the UAE.

The board was briefed on a new technical committee, which brings the total number of specialised committees of the federation to 16, as well as plans for the next Middle East Banking Forum scheduled to take place in November. The board commended the continued constructive, consultative and productive approach of the UAE Central Bank on all banking issues.

At the board meeting, two outgoing members, Abdulla Mohammed Saleh Abdul Raheem, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Abdul Shakoor Hussain Tahlak, Senior Executive Vice President of Emirates NBD, were presented with trophies to mark the organisation’s gratitude for their significant contribution to the work of the federation.

Finally, the federation’s work programme for 2016 was reviewed by the board and the federation’s budget and financial statements for 2015 were ratified.

Source:WAM